Netanyahu Praises Congress on Passage of Taylor Force Act

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated the US Congress and the Trump administration for passing the Taylor Force Act.

The legislation was named in memory of US Army veteran Taylor Force, stabbed to death by an Arab terrorist during a visit to Israel in March 2016.

On Friday, the Senate approved the Taylor Force Act as part of the $1.3 trillion budget package to prevent a government shutdown. In early December 2017, the House passed the bill unanimously.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly said he would never stop providing monthly stipends to terrorists and their families – a practice that became known as "pay to slay." Passage of the legislation will significantly affect US funding to the Palestinian Authority until it stops the payments. 

Netanyahu said the legislation sends a "powerful signal" that changes the rules.

"The American Congress has passed the Taylor Force Act, which is named after an American student who was murdered in Jaffa, Taylor Force, from a wonderful family," Netanyahu told cabinet ministers. "It is designed to deny to the Palestinian Authority hundreds of millions of dollars that they invest in encouraging terrorism and lavish on terrorist families and the murderers themselves."

He continued. "I think that this is a very powerful signal from the US, which is changing the rules. It is unwilling to accept the truth of the past or, I should say, the lies of the past, and live with them. It is simply exposing lie after lie and is standing up on truth after truth," he said.

"I congratulate the American Congress and President Trump for these decisions. I am certain that I do so on behalf of all Israeli government ministers," he concluded.